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March 4, 2018

Sharks and Waratahs draw in Durban

The Sharks were held to a 24-24 draw with the Waratahs in an error-ridden Super Rugby contest at Kings Park in Durban on Saturday.

The hosts, coming off the back of a bye in Round Two, were looking for their first win of the season following their 26-19 season-opening loss at the hands of the Lions. The 'Tahs on the other hand, were in search of a second win in as many weeks after beating the Stormers 34-27 in Sydney seven days earlier.

The Sharks scrum was dominant throughout the contest – and certainly much-improved from their display in Johannesburg a fortnight ago - while their new-found offloading philosophy, though clearly still a work in progress, made for some exciting viewing.

The Durbanites got off to a less than convincing start, however, when they conceded to 'Tahs scrum-half Jake Gordon inside the opening five minutes. Robert du Preez pulled three back for the hosts before some hard, direct running – as well as a nifty offload or two - resulted in a try for Lukhanyo Am under

Defence was an obvious problem area for the Australians, particularly in the first-half, with the 2014 champions missing as many as 13-tackles in the opening 40-minutes. Still, though, they managed to keep the scoreboard ticking via a Foley penalty.

A lack of clear evidence denied Tendai Mtawarira, in full “Beast” mode, the Sharks’ second just before the interval, as the sides went into the break deadlocked at 10-all.

Am bagged his second soon after the break when a classic Dick Muir-esque set-piece play saw the Springbok centre slice his way through the Waratahs defence to give his side a seven-point buffer.

Poor handling was a constant theme throughout the exchange, with the Durbanites going on to make a whopping 48-errors in all. They were eventually made to pay for their repeated transgressions when a knock-on from a quick throw-in directly resulted in a try to Wallaby captain Michael Hooper; burning several Sharks backs on his way to the try-line.

The loose nature of the game meant that there were further opportunities for Du Preez and Mitch Short to grab converted tries of their own, as the game ended all-square.

The Sharks next host the Sunwolves in Round Four, while the Waratahs travel to South America to face the Jaguares.